Turkish FM offers 'parallel process' to solve Armenia's deadlock

As the world awaited U.S. President Barack Obama’s statement Saturday on the 1915 events in Anatolia, Turkey was pondering its next move after Armenia abruptly withdrew from protocols that aimed to normalize bilateral relations.

The decision did not come as a surprise, according to Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, who said Turkey is seeking “parallel parliamentary ratifications” to normalize ties with neighboring Armenia as a way out of the deadlock.

Neither Turkey nor Armenia has ratified the protocols signed by the two countries in October to restore diplomatic ties. Armenia accuses Turkey of setting pre-conditions by urging that the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan be settled first.

“We shall consider moving forward when we are convinced there is a proper environment in Turkey and there is leadership in Ankara ready to re-engage,” Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said Thursday in a televised address.

“It is not a surprise for us,” Davutoğlu told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review on Friday. “Armenia made a one-sided decision as a result of its domestic process. But the positive element is that they have confirmed to continue the process.”

The minister also expressed his hopes for a better climate in both countries, saying “achieving the [normalization] process will serve both sides, as well as the whole region,” and suggesting a “parallel ratification” process in response to Yerevan’s vow not to take any further steps unless the Turkish Parliament ratifies the protocols first.

“What is important for us is parallelism. It is not important when the ratification takes place. I think the window of opportunity is still open,” he said. “I see what difficulties Sargsyan and Armenia are dealing with. But Turkey’s concerns must be correctly analyzed too.”

Şükrü Elekdağ, Istanbul deputy for the opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, and a member of Parliament’s Foreign Committee, said Armenia is trying to force Obama to utter the word “genocide” in his Saturday speech.

“It is widely expected that Obama, as he did last year, will use ‘Meds Yeghern’ in his statement, a phrase in Armenian that means ‘great catastrophe,’ rather than saying ‘genocide,’” Elekdağ told the Daily News on Friday. “Obama [wanted to] justify his attitude by pointing out that there are ongoing talks between Turkey and Armenia. Now, Armenia is trying to devoid him of such an explanation.”

Armenia claims up to 1.5 million Armenians were systematically killed in 1915 under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. Turkey denies this, saying that any deaths were the result of civil strife that erupted when Armenians took up arms for independence in eastern Anatolia.

According to Murat Mercan, the chairman of Parliament’s Foreign Committee, Sargsyan’s statements do not bring about any status change.

“They are just saying that they will not put [the issue] on parliament’s agenda,” Mercan told the Daily News. “They could be wanting to draw international attention to [claims of genocide]. A statement right before April 24 could only be interpreted this way. But big states do not determine their positions [under the influence of] such statements.”

Speaking aboard the ATA jet, Minister Davutoğlu talked about his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and confirmed they had agreed to continue the process. “We hope this process will end peacefully and turn into a positive vision,” he said. “I think there is still a chance to achieve a common vision.”


/Hurriyet Daily News/